OneWinged Angel
by SpacePirate Khan
Summary: Crappy title, but a new take on SephAeris fics - and FF7 in general. When Sephiroth stabbed Aeris, there was a surprising lack of blood. Was there a reason? What really happened to the young Ancient? Read to find out! (AerSeph) Rating for a bit of blood..
1. Chapter One: What Really Happened

Disclaimer:  
  
I'm sick of writing these. I don't  
  
own Final Fantasy 7. Only the slow of  
  
mind would think otherwise.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Author's Note:  
  
I thought I'd write a Seph/Aeris story for  
  
a change instead of just Yuffie/Vincent.  
  
And uh.. maybe this'll put a new twist on the  
  
plot. See, annoying as it may be, that's one  
  
thing I absolutely LOVE about the Final Fantasy  
  
series lately. All the endings leave themselves  
  
open to countless questionings. Or atleast one or two.  
  
And uh, this story begins when Aeris gets stabbed.  
  
Am I the only one who laughed? Does Aeris have no blood  
  
or something? This should explain the lack of blood as  
  
well.. Oh and this is likely to be a one-shot, one-chapter  
  
songfic-sort of, writers-block-curing thing. So no flames  
  
please.. -_- But feel free to ask either Sephiroth or  
  
Jenova or any other FF7 cast member questions in your  
  
review. If I do continue, it'll be interactive, like many  
  
of my stories =)  
  
  
  
  
  
[Chapter One: What Really Happened...]  
  
[Place: City of the Ancients]  
  
[Outside at the lake]  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
A dark-clad figure stared down at his nemesis,  
  
glaring through the branches of the tree he was  
  
crouched in, a hand on his sword. He could easily  
  
slay all three of those pitiful worms now... but  
  
he preferred toying with his prey, and besides, he  
  
thought, he had more pressing matters to attend to.  
  
"Humans can only stay unconscious underwater so long.."  
  
he muttered and, after Cloud and the others had gotten  
  
a safe distance away, lept from his hiding place, landing  
  
beside the lake.   
  
  
  
"You poor little flower girl.." he muttered as he walked  
  
into the icey cold waters, towards where Aeris' body had  
  
been laid. ".. tossed aside like worthless garbage by your  
  
allies. Real nice way to show they care."  
  
  
  
By the time he finished talking to himself, so it seemed,  
  
he was completely sumbmerged, his hair floating wildly  
  
behind him as he calmy walked to where Aeris lay, picking  
  
up her body and carrying it back out of the lake, lying it  
  
aside to dry. Sephiroth glared down at the motionless girl  
  
before him, laughing a bit madly. "How a girl like you.." he  
  
said, staring down at her face, "could pose such a threat  
  
to my plans.." Sephiroth stared up at Jenova's hideous  
  
form nearby.   
  
  
  
"Mother!" he called with an inner grimace, "We're going  
  
back home for now.." And with that, he grabbed up  
  
Jenova with one hand, Aeris' body with another, and  
  
simply.. vanished.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
[Many hours later...]  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
The young flower girl awoke as beams of sunlight  
  
hit her eyes. At first, she wondered where she was,  
  
but wasn't troubled yet as she was quite groggy, but  
  
after a moment she realized something was horribly  
  
wrong.  
  
  
  
"I.. I'm alive?" Aeris questioned to no one in  
  
particular, jumping up and staring around at what  
  
appeared to be a normal every-day bedroom. Then she  
  
realized she had been sleeping on satin sheets atop  
  
a very comfy, large bed. "Wh.. where am I..?"  
  
  
  
Then she heard footsteps approaching; a slow, long,  
  
powerful stride that was accompanied by the brushing of  
  
a certian type of long garment..  
  
  
  
"Wh-Who's there?"  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Without knocking or hesitation, a heavy boot kicked the  
  
door open. Aeris was shocked and, at first, horrified,  
  
to see the man that stabbed her standing there with  
  
a smirk on his face. But..  
  
"I see you woke up. How does it feel, being tossed  
  
aside by your only friends?'  
  
  
  
.. needless to say, this fear was quickly replaced  
  
by anger and hatred for this heartless fiend that  
  
stood before her. "You.. I thought you killed me..!"  
  
  
  
"Oh, yes.." Sephiroth said, striding over to her  
  
cooly, seemingly amused by the confused and slightly  
  
angered look on his captive's face, ".. you would have  
  
loved that, wouldn't you? Unfortunately, I was one  
  
step ahead, as usual."  
  
"Wh.. what are you talking about?"  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Sephiroth stopped in front of Aeris, and leaned down  
  
so that his face was inches away from her own. A colder  
  
look fell upon his features as her annoyance quickly  
  
faded back to fear.  
  
  
  
"Do you think I'm that stupid?" he muttered, his tone  
  
of voice one of slight amusement. "honestly, to give  
  
my foe such an easy way to foil me would be utter  
  
madness. No, I didn't kill you, otherwise you wouldn't  
  
be here obviously. You'd be in the Lifestream, already  
  
moving to overthrow my plans."  
  
  
  
  
  
"Then, what did you do?" Aeris asked quietly,  
  
backing away from the menacing terror. Sephiroth  
  
smirked at her reactions and moved closer just to  
  
bother her.   
  
"I merely stunned you with a feigned attack.. it  
  
looked, and to you felt, just like stabbing."  
  
And, with a mad laugh, he stood up straight once  
  
more. "I'm surprised your 'friends' were so  
  
stupid as to not notice the lack of blood that  
  
would normally have poured from your corpse had  
  
you really been stabbed.."  
  
  
  
  
  
"I thought Jenova wanted me dead.. I thought you--!"  
  
"You got half of it right." Sephiroth chuckled.  
  
"Jenova wanted you dead. But as displeased as it made  
  
her, I could care less. It would have deeply hurt my  
  
plans. That vile creature doesn't use its head.."  
  
"But I thought that you-"  
  
"That I was a puppet of Jenova?" Sephiroth said, before  
  
busting out laughing. "I am using Jenova.. to control  
  
Cloud's mind... to manipulate him.. once I get what  
  
I want from that fool, Jenova will be of no more use  
  
to me than you. So it is quite the opposite."  
  
  
  
  
  
"You aren't going to get away with any of this.." Aeris  
  
muttered, her voice a bit broken with nervousness. The  
  
platinum haired man seemed to find this amusing as well.  
  
"I already have, precious. I already have.." And with that,  
  
he walked off, slamming the door shut. He felt a certain  
  
sadness for having to keep the girl locked away, but quickly  
  
dismissed it as a weakness. "Come, mother.." he called, grimacing  
  
inwardly as he did so. ".. we have work to do."  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
[[End Chapter]] 


	2. Chapter Two: And So He Failed

Disclaimer: Do I really have to repeat  
  
myself? refer to chapter one.  
  
  
  
  
  
Author's Note:  
  
I'm not going to argue the point any  
  
further about the stabbing. If you don't  
  
like my idea about how it happened, just don't  
  
read this fic. =P  
  
Anyway, this is one of the more serious tales I've  
  
wrote come to think of it... Skyship Highwind  
  
was just a comedy with mild plotline. This one is  
  
the opposite =) I read a fic the other day that  
  
annoyed me a bit. It's an awesome fic, a Cloud/Yuffie  
  
pairing, but 1.) Kisaragi was spelled wrong, and  
  
2.) SOLDIER was spelt SOLIDER, netiher of which were  
  
typos as they were misspelled every time. But who  
  
cares, the story rocked ^_^ Too bad I can't find it  
  
again, I never finished it...  
  
OH, to those who asked questions, it's time for..  
  
  
  
  
  
]Fan Mail![  
  
  
  
Khan: "With me as your host, of coarse. Ok, let's  
  
see here.. First off, to Sephiroth, it's rumored that  
  
you would have had to swim to get to Aeris' body in  
  
the lake. What do you have to say about that?"  
  
  
  
Sephiroth: "... I would only have had to swim if her  
  
body had not fallen to the bottom of the lake as it had.."  
  
  
  
Khan: "It's also rumored that you didn't do it because  
  
you can't swim."  
  
  
  
Sephiroth: ".... bring me the fool who started that  
  
rumor and I'll make him suffer."  
  
  
  
Khan: "Someone had also said something about you hating  
  
Aeris, let me find the review list.."  
  
  
  
Sephiroth: "Hate her? If I hated her, I'd have locked  
  
her in the spare basement room with nothing but a coffin  
  
to sleep in and corpses to keep her company."  
  
Khan: "So what you're saying is you like her?"  
  
  
  
Sephiroth: "... I didn't say tha-"  
  
  
  
Khan: "You heard it here first! Sephiroth likes Aeris!"  
  
  
  
Sephiroth: "Hey! You're putting words in my mouth!"  
  
  
  
Khan: "That's besides the point. Let's get on with the show!"  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
[Chapter Two: And So He Failed.]  
  
[Place:Midgar City]  
  
[Time: Meteor's Impact, Midnight]  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Everyone stared in horror. The Planet  
  
was covered in darkness, the only beacon  
  
of light coming from the ominous Meteor,  
  
which was slowly moving into Midgar. Spirals  
  
of flames were spreading down like twisters,  
  
wiping out each sector bit by bit, and the ShinRa  
  
headquarters was the first to go, consumed by fire  
  
in mere moments.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
The only one who had the power to stop it was on  
  
her knees in her 'prison' of sorts. Aeris had been  
  
trying to reach the lifestream for hours now; having  
  
Sephiroth gone helped her concentration, but it was  
  
still difficult.  
  
  
  
  
  
Yet, after many hours of pleading, finally eerie green  
  
light began to pour from the Planet's surface, all moving  
  
towards Midgar - and Meteor - like a stream of spirits.   
  
  
  
It began to cluster over Midgar, enveloping the Meteor  
  
slowly, adding a massive blueish green light to the Planet,  
  
and bringing hope to those watching. Untill suddenly, the  
  
light began to fade into red, and Meteor kept coming.  
  
  
  
  
  
And right as it seemed Meteor was about to crash, there came  
  
a blinding flash of light, and in mere moments, all that remained  
  
of Meteor were thousands of tiny flaming pebbles, which hardly did damage  
  
other than shattering a few windows or catching a tree or two  
  
on fire.  
  
  
  
  
  
Of coarse at this point all of Midgar was nothing but a smoldering  
  
crator, but that's besides the point. Aeris lifted her head and  
  
smiled. Her task had been completed. She had stopped Sephiroth once  
  
and for all. She stood and began to gather her things. "I can't wait  
  
to see the others, they'll be shocked to see me!"  
  
  
  
As she stuffed the last of her things into a small napsack - which  
  
wasn't a lot mind you - she heard footsteps.  
  
  
  
  
  
Aeris froze stiff in terror. Whoever it was seemed to be dragging  
  
along the ground as he/she walked, and a bit of grunting could be  
  
heard with each step, accompanied by heavy breathing. She dreaded  
  
the worst, that Sephiroth was still alive, that he was back, and she  
  
began frantically trying to search for another way out... then she  
  
began to think.. "Maybe it's Cloud, coming to save me!" she thought to  
  
herself with a grin, and as she turned to get the door, all her  
  
hopes were shattered. Along with the door.  
  
  
  
Loud crackles of lightning were heard as the door was splintered open  
  
by magical bolts; There, in the doorway, stood her worst nightmare.  
  
  
  
Sephiroth stood there glaring at her; his calm, cool composure was lost  
  
at the moment. Instead, he seemed to be staggering; his body had cuts  
  
all over the place, his clothes torn in many places, his shirt completely  
  
torn off, his hair matted with blood; his left leg seemed to be paralyzed  
  
at the moment, and his right arm seemed paralyzed in pain, but his face  
  
didn't reveal any of this pain despite the slashes on it.  
  
  
  
Instead, he glared at her with a seething hatred in his eyes as he  
  
staggared towards her. "You... it's all... you're... fault!" he growled,  
  
dripping a trail of blood as he walked towards the Ancient. "I'd.. rule  
  
this.. world... now... if not.. for you.."  
  
  
  
He seemed to be gasping for air, and he was halfway to Aeris, moving  
  
at a very slow pace.   
  
  
  
  
  
Aeris wasn't quite as afraid anymore; in fact she found his appearance,  
  
though quite bloody, was rather amusing.  
  
"Looks like Cloud really kicked your butt. I knew it." Aeris laughed.  
  
This obviously enraged Sephiroth even worse.  
  
  
  
"You DARE mock me.. in my own mansion..!?" Sephiroth yelled weakly,  
  
as he staggered closer. He stood up tall again as if the searing  
  
pain of his injuries didn't even phase him, as his hands began  
  
to burn brightly with huge balls of fire. "You'll pay.. for what  
  
you've.. done..!!" he growled bitterly. Aeris realized her mistake  
  
in mocking him and jumped back, but before she had time to cast  
  
Reflect on herself..  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Sephiroth groaned and fell to the ground, his hands now  
  
smoking and a bit scorched. He just hadn't had the energy  
  
to complete the magic, and the strain had completely drained  
  
him.  
  
  
  
Aeris stood there, stunned for a moment, before realizing this  
  
would be an excellent time to escape. And so she attempted to  
  
to so, carefully walking out of the room.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
But every step she took in what she now recognized as the  
  
ShinRa mansion in Nibelheim, she felt more and more guilty  
  
for something she shouldn't even feel guily about. Every  
  
step she took remined her of Sephiroth, as she was forced to  
  
see a trail of blood leading down the stairs, as well as smearings  
  
of it along the walls where he'd had to lean for support.   
  
  
  
Not to mention at the top of the stairs there had been a rather  
  
large stain of it, obviously where he'd collapsed at the top  
  
of the stairs.  
  
  
  
  
  
And as she reached the bloodied doorknob of the entrance, she  
  
couldn't take it anymore. Her good nature betrayed her as she  
  
turned the other way back towards Sephiroth.  
  
  
  
  
  
"I'm only going to heal him a bit.." she muttered to herself.  
  
"Then I'm going to leave."  
  
  
  
  
  
She reached her room again and kneeled below him, placing  
  
her hands over his back as a bright green glow emitted from  
  
them. "Why do I always have to be the good girl.." she sighed,  
  
confused at her own actions as Sephiroth's wounds re-closed.  
  
  
  
The flower girl walked out of the room, satisfied with what  
  
she had done, and at the same time regretting it. She'd left  
  
him injured enough to keep him out of commission for a long  
  
while, but enough to keep him alive.   
  
  
  
  
  
Thunder crashed outside the mansion, startling Aeris slightly  
  
as she walked towards the stairs. She turned around, fearing  
  
that Sephiroth was blasting lightning around again, but realized  
  
how silly this was after she saw nothing.   
  
  
  
Rain picked up outside as she walked down the stairs.  
  
Then, she heard yet another unwelcome sound, one that  
  
badly troubled her; footsteps. Her heart raced as she  
  
stopped and turned, seeing nothing. ".. it's just  
  
your imagination, Aeris.." she told herself, as she began  
  
walking again. And again, footsteps sounded behind her,  
  
as if someone was following.   
  
  
  
As she got near the bottom of the stairs she turned quickly,  
  
hearing a swishing sound as the footsteps stopped.   
  
"... Alright, Aeris, you're going crazy now.." she said  
  
to herself, her heart pounding. "I'm getting out of here-"  
  
  
  
  
  
As she turned around, however, she let out a blood-curling  
  
scream.   
  
  
  
"Jeeze.. did you have to scream in my ear?" said the tall  
  
man standing before her, rubbing his sore ears as Aeris  
  
backed away in horror. The man let out a cruel grin as  
  
he walked towards her, enjoying every moment of her  
  
nervousness.  
  
  
  
"S-Se-Sephiroth..! You- You're supposed to be--"  
  
  
  
"You underestimate my endurance, brat..." Sephiroth said  
  
with a light shuckle. Aeris lost her scared composure  
  
at that. "If it wasn't for me, you'd be dead.." she  
  
muttered, purposely loud enough for him to hear.  
  
  
  
"If it wasn't for you, I'd rule the world now!" Sephiroth  
  
yelled, turning from amused to angry so fast it was obvious  
  
he was still mentally unsound. Then he stood up straight  
  
again with a sigh. ".. although I suppose I owe  
  
you some gratitude for getting me back on my feet.."  
  
  
  
  
  
"So.. so you'll let me live..? I can leave?" Aeris asked,  
  
prepared to fight for her life upon the obvious answer.  
  
She may die here but she'd bring Sephiroth down with her...  
  
  
  
At first, Sephiroth looked at her like she was crazy,  
  
preparing to blast her pitiful form to bits. But then  
  
the same sarcastic smirk he had when he 'stabbed' Aeris  
  
crossed his lips and he kneeled down, face-to-face with  
  
Aeris. "Yes.." he said. ".. I won't kill you.. you can  
  
live.."  
  
  
  
He helped Aeris up. The flower girl smiled, as Sephiroth  
  
mocked her own expression, making it look as sincere as  
  
possible however. "Thank you. You're not as heartless  
  
as you seem... are you?" And with this, Aeris began to walk  
  
towards the door. As she got there, however, the doors  
  
to the mansion shot up and fixed themselves, slamming shut  
  
with magical force and glowing an odd blue.  
  
  
  
"Wha... What's going on!?" Aeris yelled, turning to face  
  
Sephiroth. He laughed loudly this time. "You-You said  
  
you'd let me go!"  
  
  
  
"No, I said I'd let you live. You are still of use  
  
to me.." Sephiroth said, greatly amused at the  
  
young girl's expressions. "... however, you will  
  
remain my prisoner."  
  
  
  
"Grr, Cloud'll realize I'm missing!" Aeris yelled, "Cloud  
  
will come rescue me--"  
  
  
  
  
  
Sephiroth burst with laughter at these words.   
  
"Cloud?" he laughed, "Cloud and the other fools  
  
all believe you are dead."   
  
  
  
Aeris growled, still glaring at the man. SHe knew  
  
he was right, but there was still hope... oh,  
  
who was she kidding? Everyone thought she was  
  
dead, they even 'buried' her and witnessed  
  
the so-called stabbing. These thoughts just angered  
  
her more and she charged into Sephiroth, not caring  
  
if she died or not at this point, pounding him with  
  
her bare hands as hard as she could. Sephiroth  
  
retained his amused smirk, which only served to anger  
  
her worse as she went for the low-blow: Kicking  
  
every man's weakness.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Sephiroth fell to his knees - even the almighty Seph  
  
was only human after all. The blue barrier faded and  
  
the doors fell to the ground once more, as Aeris dashed  
  
out of the mansion and clar out of Nibelheim.  
  
  
  
  
  
As Sephiroth slowly staggared up, twenty red eyes began to  
  
appear in the darkness behind him. "... after her.." he  
  
muttered, as the eyes vanished and ten shadowy figures  
  
dashed out the door at blinding speed.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
[[END CHAPTER]]  
  
  
  
  
  
Sephiroth: "Just so you know, the next chapter will be...  
  
delayed... since the author will be all tied up for a while."  
  
  
  
Khan: *tied up with tight rope and dangling over a boiling  
  
pot of molten metal* "Just you wait till I get out of this,  
  
you'll pay by having to wear a tu-tu on the next chapter!!  
  
  
  
Sephiroth: "Silence pitiful fool! You will suffer for   
  
spreading rumors and threatening me!"  
  
  
  
Khan: "Stay tuned for the next chapter, where I'll show  
  
you why you don't mess with the author..."  
  
  
  
  
  
-To Be Continued of coarse. 


	3. Chapter Three: Runaway Ancient!

Disclaimer: I, uh... don't own FF7. OH  
  
HOW I WISH I DID...  
  
  
  
  
  
Author's Note:  
  
I might include some of the other characters.  
  
I might not.  
  
Who knows?  
  
But for now... about those shadowy people. Who  
  
says Sephiroth killed them all off? He only  
  
smote the weak, pathetic ones that were going to  
  
die anyway. And as long as there are psychopaths  
  
after world domination, there will always be fanboys  
  
wanting to join him/her. Or in this case, other  
  
psychos in black ninja outfits with red glowy  
  
eyes. In short, they were just a few followers that  
  
remained. So.. don't bother flaming about it or  
  
anything. As the last chapter said I ain't gonna argue  
  
storyline points, or go back and rewrite if something  
  
is probably impossible/inaccurate. Such a pain...  
  
And from now on, the fan mail will be at the bottom of  
  
the chapters. Oh, and this fic has completely different  
  
storyline and pairings than Skyship Highwind or any  
  
other FF7 series I've written so far, with my new  
  
favorite pairings put together. Which you'll find out.  
  
So for now, on with the show!  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
[Chapter Three: Runaway Ancient!]  
  
[Place: Mount Nibel]  
  
[Time: After Aeris' escape]  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Aeris ran as fast as she could, knowing Sephiroth wouldn't  
  
stay down for very long. (and, as anyone who isn't  
  
skipping chapters knows... she was right.)   
  
  
  
The young flower girl ran up to the rickety old bridge  
  
and stopped. Boy, this thing sure brought back memories.  
  
She'd come here during the quest to find Sephiroth long  
  
ago, with Nanaki by her side. Barret and Tifa had  
  
stayed behind to rest in Nibelheim, and Cloud and Yuffie  
  
scouted ahead alone. Come to think of it, Cloud and  
  
Yuffie were almost always together, even more so after  
  
the incident at Wutai..   
  
  
  
  
  
Aeris slowly walked across the bridge. She'd known  
  
they were close, but had thought it was more of a  
  
brotherly/sisterly kind of closeness.   
  
  
  
"Guess I should have known when he stood me up  
  
at the golden saucer.." Aeris muttered. She wished  
  
Zack was still alive...   
  
  
  
  
  
"Flower girl.." hissed a sinister voice in front of  
  
her as she got near the end of the bridge. She looked  
  
up and stared in shock; in front of her stood a man  
  
wrapped up in a black ninja-like cloak, not a bit of  
  
his body visable albeit his eyes, which glowed an odd  
  
blue color. "Wh-Who are you?" Aeris asked, pulling out  
  
her staff and getting ready for the worst. The cloaked  
  
figure laughed. "I am a follower of the almighty  
  
Sephiroth.. and you are our prey. We're here to take  
  
you, alive if possible."   
  
  
  
"You think I'll just give up like that and come along  
  
quietly?" Aeris said, as she prepared to summon  
  
something. Before it could appear, however, the  
  
black cloaked figure pulled out a sword as big as  
  
he was, the blade stained crimson from years of  
  
bloodshed; he brought it up with the greatest of  
  
ease and brought it down, slicing off half the  
  
bridge's ties to the cliffside, causing it to  
  
fall sideways.   
  
  
  
  
  
Aeris screamed and clung to the edge of it as  
  
a soft roaring was heard below. The cloaked  
  
figure grinned from under his mask as nine  
  
others landed behind him. "So, Aeris... will  
  
you come along quietly now?" he asked, glaring  
  
at her. Aeris looked up and glared back, then  
  
she noticed the blue glow in the man's eyes.  
  
"... Cloud...?" she asked, her eyes ridening.  
  
  
  
  
  
The roaring however grew loud fast as a flaming  
  
creature flew up above Aeris, flame pouring out of  
  
its mouth as it glared at its targets, surveying  
  
their strength with a cruel sadistic grin. The  
  
nine followers behind the first stared in horror  
  
as the creature rushed into the group, the  
  
nine running in terror. The front one took up his  
  
sword and prepared to fend off the beast, but it  
  
was too late.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
In a blinding flash of light, and a small explosion  
  
on the cliff, the ten followers became one pitiful  
  
pile of ragged scorched cloaks and bones.  
  
  
  
Ifrit grinned, satisfied with his slaughtering,  
  
then vanished in a column of fire as Aeris climbed  
  
up onto the cliffside. She walked up to the burned  
  
followers and smiled happily, then turnd to the  
  
scorched circle. "Thanks Ifrit!" she said before  
  
skipping down the path again.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Hold it.. right.. there.." a cold, familiar  
  
voice said behind her. She turned around and  
  
saw the pile of rags moving as the head of the  
  
followers, the one with the giant sword, stood  
  
up slowly, his head bent down so that his face  
  
couldn't be seen yet. It was obvious his mask  
  
had been roasted off, as his raven, messy hair  
  
was very visible.   
  
  
  
  
  
"... No...!" Aeris said, hardly believing what  
  
she saw as the man glared at her. She stared  
  
at him in horror, her heart heavy with dread of  
  
the truth. "... Zack?"  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
The man looked confused, dragging his  
  
sword up into stance. "Zack..? I have no  
  
name." he said, before charging at Aeris,  
  
swinging his sword and aiming to decapitate.  
  
  
  
Aeris ducked as he skidded to a stop and  
  
slammed his sword down at her. She rolled  
  
out of the way just barely as his sword  
  
pounded into the ground. Aeris jumped up  
  
and quickly dashed backwards as his sword  
  
slammed into the cliffside right where  
  
her waist had just been.  
  
  
  
"Zack, snap out of it!" she shouted as  
  
the man held his hand out towards her,  
  
electricity surging through his arm.  
  
  
  
"I already told you, I'm not Zack!" he  
  
yelled as a bolt of lightning shot out,  
  
sending a painful charge through Aeris'  
  
body.   
  
  
  
  
  
The flower girl held her staff and   
  
casted regen on herself as Zack took  
  
stance once more, an aura of power  
  
surrounding him.  
  
  
  
"If you're not Zack, then who are you?" Aeris  
  
yelled, refusing to strike him down. Zack  
  
grinned psychotically. "My identity matters not...  
  
I exist only to aid the great Sephiroth..." he  
  
said, before slashing at her, a red after-image  
  
of his sword going straight at her. She jumped  
  
aside as the so-called after-image cut through  
  
the bridge and kept going, cutting into the  
  
mountainside far off as the bridge fell down,  
  
slamming into the opposite cliff.  
  
  
  
Aeris gave up trying to be nice and thwacked  
  
the man over the head with her staff. He grinned,  
  
cracking his neck and seeming to be unharmed by  
  
the blow as he kicked Aeris in the gut, hurling  
  
her backwards. Aeris skidded off the side of the  
  
cliff, clinging to the edge for dear life.  
  
  
  
  
  
Zack slowly walked up to her. "Oh, dear. You  
  
should have come quietly, you little pest. Now  
  
it seems you'll have to die."  
  
  
  
  
  
"Zack... please..." Aeris said, tears beginning  
  
to grow in her eyes as she held her staff tightly  
  
with one hand, her weapon glowing red with  
  
power. ".. I don't want to hurt you.." She cursed  
  
her bleeding heart, but she couldn't bring herself  
  
to just forget about Zack.  
  
  
  
"You? Hurt me?!" Zack busted out laughing,  
  
standing right in front of her. "That's about  
  
as likely as you living through this encounter."  
  
  
  
  
  
He brought up his foot to stomp Aeris and plunge  
  
her to her doom. Aeris closed her eyes and winced,  
  
trying to summon another creature but lacking the  
  
energy to do so. "Zack.. please... don't do this!"  
  
she yelled.  
  
  
  
  
  
After about ten seconds, though, Aeris felt a  
  
small drop of something hit her hand. She  
  
opened her eyes and gasped as she saw the blood  
  
dripping down the cliffside, then looked up in  
  
horror just in time to see a long thin blade slowly  
  
pull out of Zack's chest.  
  
  
  
  
  
Sephiroth pulled the corpse aside and looked down  
  
at Aeris with a smirk as she struggled on the  
  
cliffside. "You should thank me. I went out of  
  
my way to make sure this bunch of idiots didn't  
  
go too far."  
  
  
  
He reached down and picked up Aeris, carrying her  
  
over his shoulder as he leaped over the ravine  
  
where the bridge once was. Aeris began punching   
  
him in the back. "You killed him!" she cried out.  
  
"You killed him.."  
  
  
  
"Would you rather have him kill you?" Sephiroth  
  
said, halfway back to nibelheim. "I'd rather have  
  
a useful healer such as yourself than a pitiful  
  
excuse for a fighter such as Zack."  
  
  
  
  
  
"Zack's the one that stabbed you years ago!" she  
  
said. "And that was when he was a rookie! You  
  
call HIM the pitiful one?"  
  
  
  
  
  
"He snuck up on me and flanked me... if not for  
  
him, my plans would not have delayed nearly so  
  
long as they have. After I found Jenova, I used  
  
her to find and manipulate him along with Cloud."  
  
  
  
Sephiroth walked down the foot of the mountain and  
  
began walking back to the ShinRa Mansion. "He stayed  
  
here and defended the mansion along with several  
  
others. You may have seen them at some point, but at  
  
the time Jenova had a hold over them all, degrading  
  
them all to mindless babble."  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Sephiroth walked in and re-fixed the doors again,  
  
then continued walking straight up to the west  
  
wing. Aeris' punching had ceased a while back,  
  
replaced now by twitching now and then. He noticed  
  
as he climbed the staircase that his shoulder was  
  
quite thoroughly soaked. "... why should you waste  
  
tears on this fool?" Sephiroth said, bewildered by  
  
Aeris' useless waste of emotion as he tossed her  
  
down onto a bed. She looked up and glared at him.  
  
"You monster...! How could you say that....?"  
  
  
  
  
  
"You've got a horrible case of bleeding heart." Sephiroth  
  
groaned, walking out of the room. He turned at  
  
the doorway with a smirk. "We'll work on fixing  
  
that some day..."   
  
  
  
  
  
Aeris didn't even bother chasing him. She didn't  
  
bother bashing the door as he slammed it shut and  
  
locked her in. She didn't even bother getting  
  
off the bed. Someone very dear to her had been lost  
  
yet again - for good this time.   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
[END CHAPTER]  
  
  
  
  
  
KHan: Now for everyone's favorite part of the fic...  
  
  
  
FAN MAIL!!!  
  
  
  
  
  
Khan: And this time I HAVE THE REVIEW PAD!  
  
So let's begin. Oh, and thanks to some...  
  
negotiations... *rubs his bandaged torso*  
  
Sephiroth won't be wearing a tutu...  
  
  
  
Sephiroth: And thanks to more negotiations...  
  
*shoves a huge pile of money aside* Khan won't  
  
be wearing one either.  
  
  
  
Khan: So on with the first question, from  
  
Loelene1892. "don't let sephy win, ok?"  
  
  
  
Sephiroth: Hmm, can't make any promises  
  
there I'm afraid.  
  
  
  
KHan: Hmm, this wasn't meant to be a question  
  
I don't think.. on to the next. This time  
  
we're going to have a laugh at KobeStrife,  
  
who WILL be wearing a tutu today.  
  
  
  
*points the camera towards a sad person in  
  
an orange and pink tutu doing the nutcracker dance*  
  
  
  
Khan: If you don't like the fic, don't flame with  
  
such immature language. Just don't read it. Now then,  
  
on with the next review... oh yeah the swimming thing.  
  
"aeris acutally sunk down so sephiroth would have to  
  
swim down to get her--"  
  
  
  
Sephiroth: We went through this. I can hold my breath  
  
a long time. I walked down there.   
  
  
  
KHan: I bet she needed a lot of CPR, huh? *nudge*  
  
  
  
Sephiroth: That's... beside the point....  
  
  
  
Khan: Now let's get one from a man named reno.  
  
He writes,  
  
"i like. i like very much. just answer me this,   
  
sephiroth, do you really hate aeris? 'cause if   
  
you do, then you must absolutely ABHOR all the   
  
fics with you two as a couple , ne?"  
  
  
  
Sephiroth: .....  
  
  
  
Khan: Sephiroth?  
  
  
  
Sephiroth: I refuse to answer this question.  
  
  
  
Khan: Aww c'mon...  
  
  
  
Sephiroth: Look, we covered this last chapter.  
  
Don't bring it up again.  
  
  
  
Khan: Fair enough. Well that's about it for the  
  
questions.   
  
  
  
Aeris: Why hasn't anyone written me yet? ='(  
  
  
  
Sephiroth: Because you're the annoying little  
  
twit who bugged everyone in FFVII....  
  
  
  
Aeris: Then why is Khan writing a love story  
  
between us?  
  
  
  
Khan: H-Hey, I told you to keep that part quiet--  
  
  
  
Sephiroth: WHAT!? Khan, you said you'd leave that  
  
part out, you double-crossing little--   
  
  
  
Khan: Eep! Well I'm off to run for my life.. uh..  
  
Seph? WHy're you getting out your sword? Seph..?  
  
AAAHHHH!!!  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
-To Be Continued... if the author doesn't get  
  
stabbed. 


End file.
